The Mets have announced that they’d designated right-hander Dennis Santana for assignment and activated lefty reliever Brooks Raley from the 15-day injured list.
Santana, 27, had been added to the Mets’ roster earlier on Sunday for the first game of a doubleheader. The right-hander, who sported a career 5.22 ERA and 4.25 FIP coming into Sunday's game, pitched one scoreless inning against the Nationals this afternoon, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out one. The Mets will now have seven days to trade or waive Santana. If he clears waivers, the club can assign him outright to Triple-A, but Santana would have the right to reject such an assignment, as he has been assigned outright previously during his career.
Santana’s departure from the roster makes room for Raley, who the Mets acquired from the Rays this past offseason. Raley joined the Rays ahead of the 2022 season with a career ERA of 5.62 in 107 1/3 big league innings but proved to be a revelation in Tampa last season, as the 34-year-old lefty dominated to the tune of a 2.68 ERA (136 ERA+) and 2.74 FIP in 53 2/3 innings of work. That performance caught the attention of the Mets, who swapped lefty Keyshawn Askew to the Rays in exchange for Raley’s services.
One could argue Raley got off to a shaky start in Queens, pitching to a 4.76 ERA with a 5.85 FIP in 11 1/3 innings of work. Those top-line numbers are somewhat deceiving, however, as four of Raley’s six earned runs were allowed in a single appearance against the Brewers, with twelve scoreless outings in fourteen appearances total this season. Raley was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation at the end of April and has been out of action ever since, leaving high-leverage duties in the Mets bullpen primarily to David Robertson and Adam Ottavino. Raley seems likely to re-enter the late-inning mix for the Mets going forward if he can return to putting up scoreless outings going forward.
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